Overview
Route Overview
If you ride this route by bike, you can travel through beautiful forest roads, rural mountain villages full of rural warmth and the cool East Sea that opens your heart. The lowest elevation is almost 0m above sea level and the highest elevation of Epic Road 1000 is 1,030m and Epic Offroad 700 is 1,040m above sea level.
The forest roads are generally in good condition, although they are occasionally steep (15% and more), and are mostly managed by the Korea Forest Service. However, parts of the route can be unexpectedly washed away or impassable due to landslides, damage to roads or bridges, etc. caused by heavy rain or snow. In such cases, riders must find alternative routes on their own.
Since the routes have numerous folks in the road, care must be taken to find the correct route, and it is recommended to refer to the GPS track log whenever possible. Most of the paths lead to villages at the bottom of the mountain, so they won't cause serious problems, but some paths may be dead ends. Always carry adequate food and water to recover from a wrong path and return to the right path. At the bottom of the mountain, you may come across a cool valley that will cool your body from the heat. You will pass many rural villages during your ride. Short conversations with local people you meet by chance are also part of the fun of riding.
<Overall difficulty>
Applying the difficulty rating criteria defined in Rogan Watts' article on Bikepacking.com, the difficulty level of Epic Offroad 700 is 'Very Strenuous', and Epic Offroad 300 is 'Strenuous'.
The calculation method is the elevation gain per 1KM of riding distance, which is expressed as a number divided by the elevation gain (meters) divided by the riding distance (KM).
Water and food can be obtained easily on the route, and the road surface is in good condition except for the collapse of forest roads due to landslides caused by the rainy season or typhoons in summer. It is possible to do this with a gravel bike equipped with a rigid fork, but due to the steep climbs and bumpy descents with gravel, a hardtail MTB is highly recommended.
<Possible season, Optimal season>
You can ride for about 5 months from May 16th to October 31st.
The rainy season is from the end of June to the middle of July every year in this area, and it is very hot from the middle of July to the end of August. Therefore, the best times for riding are mid-May to June and September to October.
For more detail, please refer https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/south-korea/seoul
<Impossible period - winter (snow)>
During winter (January to March), it is impossible to ride due to the accumulation of snow. Snow from the paved road is cleared immediately, but in the deep mountains, snow accumulates for a meter or two and remains until spring.
<Wildfire control period>
This area is prone to wildfires. Therefore, administrative agency prohibit entring into all forest roads during the spring (2.1~5.15) and autumn (11.1~12.15) high risk seasons. During this period, the entrance to the forest road is controlled by a rangers.
<Camping>
Commercial campgrounds are easy to find around paved roads. Use Google Maps.
Wild camping is possible on most public lands, except on private lands and in specially prohibited areas. In particular, you can find good wild camp sites near river valleys or mountaintops with great views. However, this does not always mean that it is legally permissible. Set up your tent after dark in the evening and leave before daylight.
<Water>
Most of the running water in the forest area is clean enough to drink directly. However, it is recommended to carry a water purifier just in case. You can buy bottled water at the grocery store.
<Buy a Food>
The route passes about 10 medium-sized villages with large grocery stores, so you only need to carry a day or two's worth of food. Food procurement conditions in Korea are very good.
One of best reliable grocery store is 'Hanaro-Mart'. It exist in most mid-size villages. There are ATM also. Most restaurants and grocery stores accept credit cards.
'Hanaro-Mart'
<The threat of animals>
The most dangerous animal on the route is the wild boar.
However, it is very rare to meet a wild boar while riding, and the boar will run away in most cases if you meet. Once you encounter a wild boar, do not turn your back and run away, but take a calm look and slowly step backwards and hide behind rocks or trees.